IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO, SBI Clerk, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL and other competitive exams have a section on logical reasoning where ranking questions are asked. In the previous blog post in this series of logical reasoning questions on ranking, we discussed the basics and some important points. Taking that ahead, in the 2nd blog in this series we will discuss ranking questions that need you to extend your logical reasoning a little beyond the basic questions, but these reasoning questions can be solved by using some smart methods in just a few seconds!

Before we move to difficult ranking questions, you must quickly revise the basics of logical reasoning used in simple ranking questions.

Set I – Logical Reasoning Ranking Questions where Positions are Interchanged

Ranking questions asked in logical reasoning section of competitive exams are of various kinds, one such category is where the positions of two members of the group are interchanged. Such questions may appear to be slightly tricky but can be easily solved with a little bit of logical reasoning.

Problem 1: In a row of boys, Deepak is 7th from the left and Madhu is 12th from the right. If they interchange their positions, Deepak becomes 22nd from the left. What is the total number of boys in the row?

Solution 1:

From the given information, we can plot the diagram where D and M represent the positions occupied by Deepak and Madhu respectively-

Now when they interchange their positions, their new positions are D’ and M’-

From the above two diagrams, we can conclude that Madhu’s old position, becomes Deepak’s new position. Now this position we know from both the ends, the right side and the left side-

This now means that we can easily find the total number of people in the row by applying the basic formula-

Substituting values in the formula, we get-

Total No. of boys in the Group: 22 + 12 – 1 = 33

Therefore, there are 33 boys in the row.

Set II – Logical Reasoning Ranking Questions based on Inequalities

Often ranking questions when extended in terms of logical reasoning also become puzzles. In this section, we will start with discussing some inequalities that help in solving such logical reasoning questions.

A is neither taller than nor equal to B

A is neither shorter than not equal to B

A is neither shorter nor taller than B

A is not taller than B

A is not shorter than B

A is as tall as B

A is not as tall as B

Apart from these inequalities discussed above, there is another keyword that plays a major role in logical reasoning questions like this, the word-

Whenever the word ‘only’ is given in a statement it has a different meaning. Let’s look at some sentences in logical reasoning where the word ‘only’ plays an important role-

Let’s now solve a question based on the use of the logical reasoning used in the above inequalities and the word ‘only’.

Problem 1: Among B, F, J, K, W, each having different weights, F is heavier than only J, B is heavier than F and W is not as heavy as K. Among them who is the 2nd heaviest?

Solution 1:

From the given information and logically reasoning out the statements above, let us try and arrange them in an ascending order. Since all of them have different weights, it means no 2 people have the same weight.

Moving to the next part of the statement- F is heavier than only J, we can conclude that,

The next part of the statement says that’s- B is heavier than F and W is not as heavy as K, so we can say that B is lighter than K, this can be represented as-

Based on all these statements we can say-

So from the above diagram we can say- J is the lightest person and K is the heaviest person. The 2nd heaviest person in the group is B.

Therefore the answer is B.

You must make a note here that such questions are asked in most Bank and SSC Exams.

Practice Questions on Logical Reasoning form Ranking

Question 1: George is fifth from the left and Peter is twelfth from the right in a row of children. If they interchange their positions, George becomes tenth from the left end. How many children are there in the row?

1) 21 2) 22 3) 23 4) 24 5) None of these

Question 2: Pune is bigger than Jhansi, Sitapur is bigger than Chittor. Raigarh is not as big as Jhansi, but is bigger than Sitapur. Which is the second biggest?

1) Pune 2) Jhansi 3) Sitapur 4) Chittor 5) None of these

Question 3: Among five boys, Vineet is taller than Manick, but not as tall as Ravi. Jacob is taller than Dilip but shorter than Manick. Who is the tallest in their group?